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2025 Photo Contest Winner - Katrina
Where exactly was your winning photo taken?
At the Saqsaywaman ruins in Cusco, where the Incans led their resistance to the Spanish conquistadors before retreating to the Amazon rain forest.
What inspired you to take this trip?
My high school friend Mical suggested it as a way to celebrate a milestone birthday! So she gathered a group of friends and family for the trip. It was so much fun!
How long were you there?
We were there for three and a half weeks (!)
What were your favorite activities (must see or do)?
Peru is simply amazing - there is so much to see and do! And we just scratched the surface. In short - we loved hiking, exploring archeological gems, the wildlife, the cuisine and the shopping! Great hiking to and through archeological sites - we did a 4 day hike to the almost tourist-free Choquequirao ruins as well as the more popular Salkantay hike. We also hiked up Vinicunca (aka Rainbow Mountain) which was our highest point. Next time we'll try the Inca Trail - just opted for less traveled hikes this time!
The archeological richness of Peru is just extraordinary. We saw so many ruins from the Incan period in Cusco and Ollantaytambo and other sites in the Sacred Valley, which were fascinating. The construction was so sophisticated; the seams on the walls are flawless. Machu Picchu was absolutely magical, of course - so fortunate that the conquistadors never got around to destroying it. I also was impressed with the preserved mummies at the Incan Museum in Cusco, as well as the frozen Juanita (the girl who was sacrificed to the Incan gods on Ampato Peak) in Arequipa. Other pre-Columbian civilizations, which preceded and were conquered by the Incans, were quite sophisticated as well, and well-worth exploring. Of special note are the Nazca, famous for enormous geoglyphs (Nazca lines) and sophisticated subterranean irrigation systems. Lake Titicaca is well worth a visit, a gateway to preserved indigenous cultures and breathtaking scenery.
We also loved the wildlife. Seeing the andean condors swooping by at Canyon de Cochi was an absolute highlight, as was seeing the endangered vicuñas on the high plateaus and the penguins and sea lions at the Ballestas Islands.
Finally, it's worth building in enough time to buy some of the textiles on offer - the alpaca sweaters are beautiful.
What were some of the challenges?
Our biggest challenges were training for the hikes - the physical endurance required was no joke! - and the altitude. Happy that we did the Choquequirao hike first because it just about kicked our asses. It is the equivalent of a Grand Canyon rim to rim (5000 foot elevation drop and gain) and back again. It made the Salkantay trek (altitude over 16,000 feet) seem easy. We all took acetazolamide (Diamox) for altitude and didn't really have any problems - but were quite conscious of acclimatizing well.
How did you come up with your itinerary?
We started with our wish list hikes (Choquequirao and Salkantay) as our core activities and added the items that we were most interested in - Machu Picchu, seeing the andean condors, Nazca lines, Lake Titicaca) ... everything else just fit in as the travel permitted.
How did you get around?
We relied on our amazing in-country team for logistics - most surface travel was in their van. We took a flight from Lima to Cusco and another flight from Arequipa to Lima.
How was the food, and did you have a favorite meal?
Did I mention that Peruvian food is amazing? Lima in particular has a great restaurant scene with great fusion cuisine, and is home to the world's top restaurant (Maido). Great classic dishes include ceviche and lomo saltado. And the pisco sours of course
Do you have any recommendations or tips for people planning a similar trip?
There seem to be strikes around transportation to and from Aquas Calientes, at the base of Machu Picchu, which affect the ability to access the site - so it would be worth following that situation closely. That said, it requires an advance reservation to access Machu Picchu, which should be secured months in advance. There are a number of circuits and it's worth doing at least two of them.
We got very lucky with our weather throughout. There may well be a few disappointments due to obscured visibility ... just the luck of the draw. There are more tourists during the dry season, but it's clearly the best time to visit. It would be worth building in a bit of a buffer in the itinerary to allow flexibility.
And finally - I cannot say enough good things about Discover Pachamama. They were absolutely the best. https://discoverpachamama.com
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